Everton put foot down on Demarai Gray exit as Alan Myers shares transfer update
Demarai Gray now looks set to stay at Goodison Park until January at least after Everton seemingly put their foot down on his long-running potential exit.
Sky Sports reporter Alan Myers, taking to his personal Twitter account (1 September), shared that Gray will remain an Everton player, despite being expected to leave the club throughout the summer.
With the window closed in England, the club would be unable to sign a replacement for the Jamaican international, so despite a week remaining for Saudi Arabian clubs to make transfers, this one will not materialise.
Myers tweeted: “Demarai Gray will be staying at Everton, despite an offer from a Saudi Arabian club.”
Also in a response to an Everton fan’s question on whether the Toffees would reject any incoming offers from Saudi clubs for Gray’s signature, Myers confirmed that Everton will indeed continue to put their foot down on any potential approach.
He tweeted in response to the question: “That’s what I understand to be the case.”
Not only were Saudi Arabian clubs interested in Gray’s services throughout the remaining days of the summer window but also Ligue 1 outfit LOSC Lille who submitted a last-gasp deadline day bid (L’Équipe, 1 September).
However, according to L’Equipe journalist Romain Lafont (1 September), the Toffees made a turn on their stance to allow Gray’s departure to France, writing on Twitter, “Everton made an about-face at the start of the evening regarding Demarai Gray which is why the Jamaican was not loaned out to Lille.”
Gray looked to be out of the exit door at least two weeks ago and there seemed to be no way back into the team for him.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano tweeted early on 5 August that Gray has missed Everton training for three consecutive days as he only wanted to join Fulham but was still waiting for an agreement between the two clubs.
Now, fast forward a few weeks later, and the former Leicester City man still finds himself an Everton and at a potential crossroads in his career because of the club’s decision on his future.
After their failure to land a third attacking winger of the summer, with Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto a top target, following deals for Arnaut Danjuma and Jack Harrison, the Toffees’ stance is perfectly understandable.
And Alex Iwobi’s deadline day departure to Fulham certainly drives home that stance.
But how Sean Dyche will attempt to navigate through an unhappy player in the Goodison Park camp remains to be seen.
The former Leicester City man was signed from Bayer Leverkusen for just £1.7m in 2021. However, things haven’t quite turned out well during his two years at the club with Everton avoiding relegation in consecutive seasons and his lack of starts under Dyche.
The way Everton’s campaign has started right now, Dyche may well be forced to turn to Gray in a dramatic u-turn and his undoubted game-changing abilities in attack could prove crucial in reviving their disastrous start to the campaign with three-straight defeats.
Previously hailed as “inspirational” by Martin Keown – the Everton winger possesses undeniable pace and creativity which could cause chaos for any defence, averaging 1.2 key passes, 1.7 shots on goal and one successful dribble per game last season.
Gray may well have been feeling his time was up at Everton, but things don’t always turn out the way things are expected to in football. Who knows, this could well prove to be the turning point in Gray’s career at Goodison Park, but also a January exit cannot be ruled out either.
These next few weeks and months may define his fate.
In other Everton news, the Toffees made a last-gasp mega bid to sign one former Premier League winger on transfer deadline day and received a swift response to the ambitious offer.